Last updated 16:05, Thursday, 02 October 2008

CAMPUS PLANS: Parkview School

A PROPOSED academy for Barrow has been the most hotly debated issue in the town over the last 12 months.
Now pupils, parents, teachers, and the Barrow public have a revised option to consider – should an academy be on one site or two?
A consultation starts on October 1 to decided if the new 11-16 year school – which would replace Alfred Barrow, Thorncliffe and Parkview – should be based on Parkview or a dual campus of Parkview and Thorncliffe.
In February Cumbria County Council’s cabinet agreed to proceed with plans to close the three secondary schools in August next year and establish an academy at the existing schools in September, 2009. The plan was to build the new academy at the Parkview site ready for 1,200 pupils to move into in September 2012.
The government approved an Expression of Interest for the £30m new school and plans moved into the feasibility stage. Now a dual campus option is also on the table.
The government is now prepared to fund an academy model which would be one school but with new buildings at Parkview and Thorncliffe. There would be 600 pupils at each site and the scheme would cost between £40m and £45m.
The council’s cabinet approved plans to consult the public about the two models and also agreed to put £1m of tax payers’ money into the academy.
The authority still plans to improve facilities and extend pupil numbers at St Bernard’s Catholic High and Walney schools.
The academy will have three educational sponsors – Barrow Sixth Form College, Furness College and the University of Cumbria.
The council has said the academy plan will bring needed funding to improve school buildings, help improve standards of achievement and also address predicted falling pupil numbers.
But the plan has been controversial. Parents have raised concerns about choice being taken away by replacing three schools with one, the 1,200 pupil number, the transition period and the policies and curriculum of a privately-controlled school.
The council believes the revised model offers a greater choice for parents and helps address concerns about school size.
The consultation about the future of secondary education in Barrow, held last October, was also criticised by pressure group Our Schools Are Not For Sale as being “flawed” and a “maladministration”.
The most popular option in that consultation was Option one – building two new schools at Parkview and Thorncliffe and closing Alfred Barrow. 39 per cent of people named this as their preferred option, 60 per cent were in favour of it, 30 per cent were against, and 10 per cent had no preference or were undecided.
The recommended “do it now” academy was the second most popular preferred option at 27 per cent. 34 per cent were in favour and 62 per cent against. The status quo – “do nothing” option – gained only 20 per cent, with 32 per cent favourable and 50 per cent against.
The latest consultation – on location alone – begins on October 1 when the document is distributed.
Meetings will be from October 15-23 and the deadline for feedback November 21.
The consultation booklet will include a questionnaire, which can be completed online at www.cumbria.gov.uk.
The cabinet’s decision on location is due on January 6.
OSANFS has called for the feasibility study to stop and the start date to be delayed for a year.